Chapter 147. Engagement – Yuan’s Side Story
“Get up! You lazy boy. How can you stay in bed even after the sun is up? You’re absolutely hopeless.”
Once again, Yuan was greeted by a harsh yell in the morning. Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he pushed away the messy blanket and got up, muttering apologies repeatedly in his half-asleep state.
It had been over two months since Yuan started working at this inn. However, waking up at dawn was still not an easy task for him.
“Only your mouth is awake. Get up already! You should be fetching water. The horses need to be fed before the guests leave!”
“Yes, I’m going. Please don’t hit me. I’m sorry.”
Yuan quickly dodged the chubby innkeeper who had raised his hand.
Feeling the chill deep to the bone, he ran to the well and started drawing water with a clattering sound.
“Thank you very much! Please visit us again. Here at the ‘Ice Island’ Inn, we promise the best service always.”
The innkeeper, having safely received the accommodation fee, repeatedly bowed to the departing guest. Then he turned to Yuan, who was bowing with him.
Flinch.
Yuan cringed, expecting to be hit, but the innkeeper just patted his shoulder.
“Good job. Now go eat and clean the rooms the guests have left. If you sleep so much, how will you ever make a living?”
“…I’m sorry.”
“Don’t just apologize… Stand straight like a man! Say you can earn your living proudly. Don’t be disheartened by little things.”
“…Yes.”
“At times like this, you need to respond loud and clear with a ‘Yes, sir!’ When I was your age…”
Ignoring the lecture, Yuan went into the inn dining room.
Breakfast for the working boy living at the inn consisted of a few pieces of coarse bread and a glass of cold milk. He quickly stuffed them into his mouth and rinsed it down with the milk, then started his day by cleaning the rooms left by the guests.
A year and a half passed like that.
“Yuan! Wake up!”
“I’m awake!”
“But you’re still lying down!”
“I’m putting on my shoes! Can’t you even see?”
Grumbling, Yuan hurried outside. Wondering if he had any chores to do this morning, he looked around.
Nothing. All was done yesterday.
Rubbing his cheek, he grumbled again.
“There’s no guest checking out today, so why all the fuss?”
“Hm. You’re out. Today, you’re coming with me.”
“Now?”
“No, after lunch.”
Yuan argued, looking bewildered.
“Then why did you wake me up like that? You scared me.”
“Hahaha. Just to get you to have breakfast quickly. Now, have a seat.”
The innkeeper smiled. He knew that Yuan responded quickly when he shouted.
After breakfast, Yuan swept various parts of the inn, soaked the laundry in lye, and cleaned the stable floors to complete his morning chores.
Yuan and the innkeeper pushed a small handcart together. They were going to buy groceries, and this was Yuan’s first time accompanying him.
Passing through the east gate, a familiar street unfolded.
Not far away was the mansion that had been his home, and this street was the one he had ridden carriages along in his childhood.
Yuan blushed as he gazed at the street.
He pushed the cart more forcefully. The innkeeper scolded him, saying, “Hey! Why the sudden rush? Push it slowly,” but Yuan just bowed his head and kept pushing with both hands.
He recalled throwing coins out the window, finding amusement in commoners’ gratitude.
Soon they arrived at a vegetable store. A bald man with a shiny head greeted them teasingly.
“Haha, welcome, savage. You brought a new kiddo today?”
“Haha, bald head. You’re shiny as usual. I brought him to teach him to shop. He’ll be coming here from now on.”
Not backing down, the innkeeper introduced Yuan, displaying the feather tattoo on his thick arm.
“Is he your son?”
“No, he works at my inn. Greet him. You can call him Bald Uncle.”
“Hey!”
The banter between the two middle-aged men continued. However, Yuan could not even force a smile…
He was staring blankly at a boy inside the vegetable store. As their eyes met, both stared seriously at each other.
Daniel Kazak.
They weren’t close, but they were peers Yuan met when he was still a noble.
* * *
Daniel and Yuan grew close rapidly. Every time Yuan came to the store, they loaded the cart together and, when done, sat side by side next to it. They didn’t talk much, but even that brought them mutual comfort.
They had much in common.
Both were once heirs to noble families, lost their parents, and had their properties confiscated because they sided with the Kingdom of Aster.
But there was a clear difference – Daniel had many people caring for him. The bald shopkeeper was one of them.
This was due to Daniel’s father, Baron Kazak, who had always treated his subordinates with kindness.
The servants and maids of the Baron’s family in Kazak did not abandon their kindness. Though they lacked the power to fend off the knights who attacked to kill the Baron, they were able to hide Daniel.
“Yuan, look at this.”
As usual, they sat side by side staring at the streets when Daniel pulled out something to show. A few small jeweled trinkets. They weren’t much, but to them, they were treasures of immense value.
“I’m going to leave. Not right now, but when I grow a little more. Do you want to come with me?”
“… Leave? To where?”
“I haven’t decided that yet. I… just don’t want to stay here.”
“Why?”
Daniel was silent and then confessed after hesitantly choosing his words.
“It might sound strange, but… looking at the uncle and aunt who take care of me is painful. I keep thinking about my deceased mother and father and can’t bear it. Honestly… I just want to run away and forget everything. Don’t you feel the same?”
“… I don’t know.”
“Then are you going to stay here?”
“…”
Yuan stood up. “I’ll think about it.” As he pushed the handcart back to the lodging, Daniel’s words echoed in his mind and something surged in his chest. The family was ruined. A life of clinging to a shelter without a home or estate. Actually, leaving with Daniel might not be a bad idea.
But…
‘I can’t leave just like this.’
Yuan stopped the cart. Realizing the source of his pent-up emotions, he gripped the cart handle tightly. The emotion he felt when he saw the notice with his parents’ names. It was… hatred. Deeper than any petty complaints or shallow anger he had felt before, a deep emotion that the young boy hadn’t recognized until now.
Yuan moved the cart again. By the time he returned to the lodging, it was already dark evening.
After moving the supplies to the restaurant, Yuan went to find the uncle. But the uncle was nowhere to be seen, and he searched around the lodging for a long time.
Finally, he found the owner of the lodging wandering a large vacant lot, seemingly on a stroll.
“Uncle.”
“…”
“Uncle. I’m leaving.”
“…”
“Thank you for everything until now.”
“… You’re a funny guy. Why are you leaving?”
As he was about to turn away, the owner asked with a grim face. His voice was lower than usual, but Yuan, consumed by hatred, answered curtly.
“I have something to do. Don’t stop me.”
“I see. You’re useless then.”
“… What did you say?”
The uncle didn’t respond. Meeting the emotionless eyes of the man, the boy gritted his teeth. Right. This was the world.
Having no baggage to pack, he turned and walked towards Bernoulli with nothing but his body, while the owner watched him blankly. In the darkness, a flock of crows flapped their wings and flew towards the ‘Scarlet Moon.’
* * *
“Go back. We don’t need kids like you.”
“Please. I’ll do any odd job. I’ll obey orders and work hard.”
“Ah, you’re persistent. Hey, if I said no, then get it… Oh, captain, you’ve arrived.”
“What’s this? What’s going on?”
Yuan, who was pleading with a mercenary guarding the office, turned his head. There stood a burly, energetic middle-aged man.
Anticipating his arrival, Yuan quickly clung to the man’s pants.
“Please let me work here. Please. I’ll do any work.”
“This kid dares to touch the Captain! I’ll get him out right away, Captain. I’m sorry.”
The mercenary pulled Yuan away. He was about to throw the struggling boy out the door when Elson waved his hand.
“Let him go. What are you doing to the kid? Sorry, little guy, but I don’t think there’s any work for you with our mercenary band. Take this, though. It’s not much, but buy something to eat.”
Two coins.
After hesitating for a moment, Yuan took the coins. He bowed his head politely and ran out.
“Geez, the Captain is too kind-hearted.”
“At least you sent him away well. Be careful. We changed the name of the mercenary band not long ago; you shouldn’t kick people out like that, or bad rumors will spread.”
“Understood. But what if beggars start flocking here?”
“Then run away. Hahahaha.”
Elson laughed heartily as he climbed the stairs. But,
“You came again?”
“Please let me work here!”
Yuan’s visits, which were expected to end as a funny anecdote, continued. For three days, Yuan appeared in sync with Elson’s arrival and departure times. Each time, Elson handed him coins, clicking his tongue by the third day.
“Man, hiring you might be cheaper at this rate. Hey, take him.”
“What can we do with a kid this small?”
“How would I know? Use him as an errand boy for the mercenaries, or cook him into a stew. Do whatever you want.”
“But Captain, this kid is too small for errands… Ah! Understood. Hehe.”
The administrative mercenary understood Elson’s words and took Yuan with him.
Four months passed.
In the midst of winter, while making rounds to check the mercenaries’ accommodations during the year-end party, Elson noticed Yuan.
“Is he still here?”
“Oh, don’t even mention it. He’s such a tough guy… He doesn’t think about leaving even after being beaten up.”
Mercenaries are rough.
Although they’re not exactly thugs, they are tough men who handle weapons, and when they go on trips with a caravan, it might take several months before they come back, so any disturbance during their rest time would immediately result in flying fists.
Thus, managing mercenaries’ quarters was generally left to tough guys who could hold their own against them or friendly older women (it would be a disaster if they were young and pretty).
But what if there was a small boy, perfect for a smack?
They would hit him to bring food, hit him to clean clothes, and kick him for not changing the bedding.
Elson turned his head as he watched Yuan doing laundry by dipping each piece into icy water, higher than himself.
“For the prosperity of the Dexter Mercenary Group!”
“Prosperityyyy!”
A feast was being held in the dining hall of the mercenaries’ quarters.
The mercenaries drank heartily. For them, who were restricted to half a pint (0.57 liters) of ‘Calados’ each day, there was no more exciting time than this.
Elson, who couldn’t hold his liquor well, felt tipsy after a few toasts and went outside.
He lit a cigarette he had recently started smoking to relieve boredom and stretched with a groan. In the distance, he saw Yuan in the yard of the quarters. Yuan was now hanging clothes on a high clothesline, leaping up and down.
Blowing out smoke, Elson approached quietly. Against the backdrop of the twilight yard, the image of the leaping boy seemed somehow touching.
Elson stubbed out his half-smoked cigarette, picked up a few damp clothes, and roughly draped them over the clothesline, feeling Yuan’s sharp gaze.
“…They won’t dry like that.”
“Yeah, I suppose not.”
Answering nonchalantly, Elson adjusted the clothes.
Time passed quietly as they both hung the clothes. After finishing, Elson reached out to pat Yuan’s shoulder, but the boy flinched and shrank back.
He must have thought he was going to be hit.
Elson squatted down. Bending his large frame to meet the boy’s eye level, he gave Yuan’s messy hair and cheek a pat.
“Good job.”
Turning back to the dining hall, Elson walked away, leaving Yuan staring after him, rubbing his cheek.
A few days later, at the start of the new year, Yuan’s workplace changed.
He was assigned as a servant to the commander of the Dexter Mercenary Group, working in the office, with not much to do.
Elson had never had a servant before and had already claimed, “I can’t read,” so there was little for Yuan to do in the office beyond running errands.
Having become used to hard work, Yuan looked for something to do, but Elson didn’t give him any tasks.
So, the most important thing Yuan did daily was preparing Elson’s meals.
At first, when Elson told him, “Buy something you want to eat,” Yuan timidly bought a piece of bread, only to be told, “Who’s going to eat that? Buy something more filling.”
And they ate together.
“So what did I do? I couldn’t kill him, so I threw his armor and sword into the manure pit.”
“…Wouldn’t that knight have done something about it?”
“So what? I had left Bernoulli. He couldn’t have chased me unless he left the order too, right? Hahahahaha.”
“…That’s reckless of you.”
Despite looking like someone who wouldn’t flinch at being stabbed deeply by a sword, Elson, as Yuan observed, loved to talk.
He was a man who talked purely for amusement.
Yuan had learned that such behavior was one of the bad habits of commoners but didn’t realize he was listening and occasionally responding with pleasure.
One night, Elson returned early, completely drunk. Yuan, who lived in the office, wondered why he had been drinking and helped him.
“Did something happen?”
“Haha. Good news came. Really good news… hic.”
Elson slumped onto the Chesterfield.
This bed-sofa, which Elson had purchased recently with great determination, was where Yuan had just slept, with a blanket and pillow on it.
“My… nephew, hic. Got engaged… Oh, I’m so drunk. Yuan. Sorry, hic, could you bring some water?”
“Yes. Just a moment.”
Leaving the rambling Elson, Yuan hesitated downstairs. He stood there blankly, then began moving again, and when he handed Elson a glass of water, he had a dagger hidden behind his back.
“Yuan.”
Elson looked at him intently as he took the water.
Had he been discovered? If Elson, who had once been a quasi-knight, had noticed, Yuan’s head would surely be flying off.
Yuan remained silent amid the tense atmosphere. Regardless of whether Elson had noticed, he was still conflicted, and Elson drove the final nail in.
“Would you… hic, consider becoming my son?”
“…Why?”
“Well. Maybe it’s because I’ve been living without a wife to cook for me, hic. Or maybe it’s because you seem to, hic, resemble me a little… I don’t know.”
Gulp, gulp.
Elson lay back after drinking water. As he fell asleep, snoring loudly, Yuan raised the dagger high and then… sighed and covered him with a blanket.
Although no one knew what he had done, that night, Yuan placed Elson’s sleeping hand against his own cheek. His hand was cruelly warm.
A few months later, Yuan, who became Elson’s adopted son, moved his belongings to his “father’s” mansion.
As he brushed past the wall densely engraved with resentful phrases, he took a guided tour of the mansion with a servant.
“This is the house my wife and I use. I’m usually not here, but if you need anything, please tell my wife. This is the storage… Hoho, would you like to take a look inside? And over here, we have a well and a shower. Oh! Young master, look at this. It’s probably something you haven’t seen before.”
A washing machine. Behind the shower, there was a wooden washing machine.
“It’s incredibly expensive, and for some reason, the master bought it last month. He’s never spent a penny on the mansion before… Sorry. The person who never spent money suddenly… My wife really likes it.”
“Why? It’s quite heavy for a lady to operate.”
“Exactly. I ended up taking charge of the laundry. Haha. Shall we go over there? In the past, there were two horses in that stable, but the master…”
Thereafter, peaceful days continued.
It was a house large enough to be called a mansion. A polite servant who treated the master like a friend and a kind lady. It was an economically affluent knight family with a long history.
Even here, Yuan had nothing much to do. Elson, who became his father, did not expect anything from him, so one day, he asked. The answer returned was,
“Do whatever you want.”
That night.
Yuan woke up in the middle of his sleep, panting. After a while, he quietly came out to the yard. He carefully took out a small wooden sword from the storage, making sure not to wake the servant.
It was the wooden sword used by Noel Dexter when he was young. Yuan furiously struck it against the wall full of curses and resentments, and eventually, it broke.
Standing helplessly after throwing the broken wooden sword away, Yuan looked up at the sky.
He dreamed.
He dreamed of returning to the vast mansion of the Count’s household.
But in the dream, there was no mother, and the face of the father dressed in a fine noble’s attire… comically had Elson’s face.
“Aah… Aaaaaah!”
He could not remember the faces of his mother or father. His hatred for Noel Dexter was fading, overshadowed by Elson’s hearty laughter.
I am a noble. A noble. A noble… I was.
Yuan picked up the broken wooden sword. He tried to forcibly piece together the shattered wood, but a crack, once formed, never disappeared, and Yuan never called Elson “father”.
At least in front of others.
– Thud. Thud.
Several years passed after that.
Spending time helping the mercenary corps occasionally or boringly training in swordsmanship at home, Yuan opened the door. There stood…
“My name is Leo Dexter. I’ve come to see my uncle.”
A young man who resembled his father stood there. Yuan said,
“Please understand my position where I cannot turn away the young master, nor admit a stranger into the house.”
His true feelings that he couldn’t turn away someone who resembled his father, and couldn’t admit Noel Dexter, whom he had never seen, into the house.
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